Black Honey // ‘Soak’

The Brighton rockers return with their rawest, most unflinching statement yet

 ★★★★☆

Album Artwork

Two years clean, Izzy B. Phillips has channelled her demons into Black Honey’s most brutally honest work to date. ‘Soak’ sees a gear change for the band from their raw 2023 A Fistful of Peaches. More musicality with Phillips’ vocal rounded and poppier than before, set over scuzzy guitars and dreamy shoegaze swirls. After ‘A Fistful of Peaches’, Phillips retreated to process “a decade of touring and creating music and art as an addict.” The result? Twelve introspective tracks that feel like therapy sessions. 

This is Black Honey at their most vulnerable. The Kubrick-inspired production creates a cinematic feel that mirrors the record’s themes of dissociation and identity. Early track ‘Dead’ showcases their evolution. It’s still unmistakably Black Honey, but wrapped in drifting guitar textures from Chris Ostler. It’s shoegaze for the post-grunge generation, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. 

Tracks like the radio accessible ‘Shallow’ and rowdy ‘Drag’ feel built to be heard live and will delight old fans and attract new ones.

Phillips’ dual life as a tattoo artist bleeds into her songwriting approach. Both crafts demand precision when dealing with personal narratives, and her lyrics cut just as deep as her needle work. She’s always been unafraid to bare her soul, but ‘Soak’ peels back another layer. In ‘Psycho’ she shares “With your red boots in the clouds/
Screw your head to please the crowd.” And in ‘Dead’ “You can't kill me now/'Cause I'm already dead/You can't hear the crowd/That scream in my head” 

The album’s emotional core lies in its ambiguity. There are questions posed without clear targets, anger directed at unnamed subjects. It feels like the sound of someone emerging from the fog of addiction and trying to make sense of the wreckage left behind. Messy emotions, but an album packed with great songs. 

After a year away, Black Honey have returned recharged. ‘Soak’ proves that sometimes you have to get out of your depth before you can truly learn to swim. 

‘Soak’ is out August 15. Black Honey tour the UK throughout August.

Review By: Graeme White